Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

Time flew by and the day of the blind date arrived...

He Yuzhu got up early in the morning, practiced his boxing twice in the yard as usual, then tidied up and went out.

With the key in his pocket and the door locked, He Yuzhu stepped out of the courtyard.

No sooner had he left than Yi Zhonghai sneaked out of his house.

He watched He Yuzhu's departing figure, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips, and walked towards Yan Bugui's house in the front yard.

Yan Bugui has barely left the house these past two days, mainly because he's afraid of being laughed at.

He was sitting in the house sulking when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Yan Bugui asked irritably.

"Old Yan, it's me, Yi Zhonghai." Yi Zhonghai's voice came from outside the door.

Yan Bugui was taken aback. Yi Zhonghai? What's he doing here?

Despite his doubts, he still got up and opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, Yi Zhonghai asked with concern, "Old Yan, I heard you were also beaten by Zhu Zi... Are you feeling better?"

Yan Bugui's face darkened, and he said irritably, "He didn't even use his full strength, but he still completely lost face!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed and went into the house, saying, "Sigh, Zhu Zi is getting more and more outrageous. He even dares to hit us elders. It's really..."

Hearing this, Yan Bugui felt even more aggrieved and gritted his teeth, saying, "That little beast, he'll get his comeuppance sooner or later!"

Yi Zhonghai nodded, then casually asked, "By the way, Lao Yan, do you know what Zhuzi did today?"

Yan Bugui was taken aback: "Where did you go?"

Yi Zhonghai lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Matchmaker Wang introduced him to a girl named He Qiuyue. They met at her house this morning."

"What?" Yan Bugui's eyes widened. "He's going on a blind date?"

"Yeah," Yi Zhonghai sighed, "This kid just caused so much trouble in the courtyard, and now he's going on a blind date. Doesn't he care what people say?"

Yan Bugui's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood Yi Zhonghai's intentions. This old man wanted to use him as a pawn!

But... He Yuzhu is going on a blind date? This is a good opportunity!

Seeing that Yan Bugui remained silent, Yi Zhonghai knew that his goal had been achieved, so he stood up and said, "Alright, I just came to see you. Take good care of yourself. I'm going to work now."

After saying that, he turned and left without any hesitation.

Yan Bugui watched his departing figure and sneered inwardly: Yi Zhonghai, do you think I don't know what you're up to? But... this suits me just fine!

He quickly called his wife, Yang Ruihua, and the two whispered to each other for a while.

Yang Ruihua's eyes lit up after hearing this: "Honey, you mean...?"

"Yes," Yan Bugui said with a sinister smile, "Go to the He family's place and spread the word about all the 'good deeds' He Yuzhu has done in the courtyard, especially his beating of elders and the fact that he's made enemies with several families in the courtyard. The more details the better!"

Yang Ruihua hesitated for a moment: "Wouldn't this... be too..."

"Too much what?" Yan Bugui glared and said, "If He Yuzhu dares to hit me, he shouldn't blame me for being impolite! Besides, we're just stating the facts, we're not wronging him!"

Yang Ruihua thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, I'll go right now!"

With that, she tidied herself up and hurriedly left.

---------------

Meanwhile, following the address given by Wang the matchmaker, He Yuzhu found his way to the He family home.

The He family lived in an old residential area in the east of the city, and their house was even more dilapidated than that of No. 95 Courtyard.

He Yuzhu walked empty-handed to the He family's door and knocked.

The door opened quickly, and Wang the matchmaker and He's mother came out together.

When Wang the matchmaker saw He Yuzhu, a smile had just appeared on her face when her gaze swept downwards, and her expression immediately changed.

This kid actually came empty-handed?

When He's mother saw that He Yuzhu's hands were empty, her face immediately turned cold.

"Zhu Zi, you...you came like this?" Matchmaker Wang quickly pulled He Yuzhu aside and asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you bring anything? Even a bag of snacks would have been fine!"

He Yuzhu feigned ignorance and deliberately raised his voice, saying, "Matchmaker Wang, do you need to buy anything? I've seen other people go on blind dates without bringing anything! Besides, you didn't say I should bring anything the day before yesterday!"

His shout was quite loud, and several neighbors heard it and peeked out to see what was going on.

Seeing He Yuzhu standing empty-handed at the He family's door, and speaking so confidently, the neighbors burst into laughter.

"Oh dear, are you here for a blind date? Why did you come empty-handed?"

"Exactly, they're so inconsiderate!"

"It seems this girl from the He family is going to fail again..."

Hearing the surrounding whispers, Mrs. He's face grew even more grim.

The matchmaker, Wang, was so anxious she stamped her feet. She hurriedly explained to He's mother, "Sister-in-law He, I'm so sorry, so sorry! It's all my fault. I forgot to tell Zhu Zi that he lives alone and doesn't know these customs..."

As they were talking, Mr. He came out of the house.

He was a man who looked to be in his fifties, with dark skin, a thin build, and wearing worn-out work clothes.

Seeing the scene at the door, Mr. He quickly smoothed things over, saying, "It's alright, it's alright. Zhu Zi is only 16, it's normal that he doesn't understand these things. Come on, come inside!"

As he spoke, he glared at Mrs. He, signaling her not to escalate the situation.

Suppressing her dissatisfaction, Mrs. He forced a smile: "Yes, yes, let's talk inside, let's talk inside."

He Yuzhu sneered inwardly, but on the surface he pretended to be honest and followed them into the house.

Upon entering the room, He Yuzhu quickly surveyed the surroundings.

The He family's house consisted of three west wing rooms, simply furnished with old furniture.

The house was fairly clean, but it didn't look like a wealthy place.

Just then, the curtain to the inner room was lifted, and a girl came out.

She was about seventeen or eighteen years old and had a fairly pretty appearance.

What caught He Yuzhu's attention the most was that she was holding the hand of a seven or eight-year-old boy with her left hand and the hand of a five or six-year-old boy with her right hand.

When the girl saw He Yuzhu looking over, she immediately lowered her head shyly.

Matchmaker Wang quickly introduced, "Zhu Zi, this is He Qiuyue. Qiuyue, this is He Yuzhu, whom I've mentioned to you before."

He Qiuyue looked up, glanced quickly at He Yuzhu, then quickly lowered her head and greeted him softly, "You... hello."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Hello."

At the same time, a system notification sounded in his mind:

[Ding! A potential blind date has been detected, triggering a blind date task.]

[Task Requirements: The blind date must last at least 30 minutes; otherwise, the task will fail.]

[Quest Reward: Random skill or item.]

Mr. He invited He Yuzhu to sit down and poured him a cup of hot water.

Standing to the side, He Yuzhu's mother kept looking him up and down.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Matchmaker Wang quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Zhu Zi, Qiu Yue is such a good child. She's diligent and sensible, helping to take care of her younger brother at home, and she can do everything from cooking to laundry..."

As she spoke, she winked at He Yuzhu, signaling him to say a few more nice things.

He Yuzhu understood and took the initiative to speak: "Uncle He, Aunt He, Aunt Wang should have told you about my situation, right? My name is He Yuzhu, I am sixteen years old, and I live in No. 95 Nanluoguxiang. My family has three main rooms."

"I separated from my father and live alone now. I used to learn to cook at Emei Restaurant, and I've now graduated. As for work... my master is helping me find something, and I should be able to settle on it soon."

After he finished his self-introduction, the countdown timer for the mission below his field of vision finally started to tick.